There is one word to describe my life right now – Busy! I have had a lot going on on various fronts – some good some bad – and I feel like I have spent more time on the road than at home these last few weeks. Rather than bore you with the gory details (some of which I will share in future posts) I will sum it up by saying that my time in the kitchen experimenting with my Shenanigans as been decidedly limited. I have...

Last week I discovered that my local specialty market carries fresh yuzu when they are in season. I have never seen it fresh before, we usually only get the bottled juice if we are lucky, so I snatched up a few for experimenting. When I got them home and presented them to my husband, who is usually only mildly interested in my culinary finds, there erupted something of a yuzu controversy. I contend that the aroma of the yuzu...

Forget the resolutions … I’ll take a muffin! It is a new year and rather than plague myself with empty promises about how I will eat better and work out more I decided to kick off the new year with a fragrant chocolate studded muffin. Muffins make a great breakfast, are always good to give friends and neighbors, and make great after school/work treats. Like any muffin the secret is not to over-mix the batter, so just...

All too often blueberry muffins are a disappointment. Blueberry muffin recipes are often too dry, not fluffy enough, stained violet, or all the berries sink to the bottom. The struggle for the perfect blueberry muffin led me through a gauntlet of unhappiness and bad muffins, but I am happy to report that I won the battle. This recipe produces a tender muffin with an even distribution of berries. To make these muffins even better I...

Nothing makes me happier than when I can combine two things I love into one thing I really love! I love apple cake and I love carrot cake. While looking at some apples in the market I noticed carrots on sale also, and inspiration struck! Why not combine the two? Tart apples, sweet carrots, warm spices, moist cake … how can that be anything but good? To increase the yum factor I added a bit of some fabulous dark maple syrup...